Letters to the Editor - Letters

Douglas Bell, just one question. If it cost about $10,000 to educate a student at St. Louis School and about $15,000 to educate that same student in the public school system for one year, why should us tax payers pay more?

Douglas Bell, Why don't you just send a check to the DOE every month to help them out. Don't compare the DOE to private business. If you don't like the CEO getting a big bonus, don't buy or use the products their company sells. A good example is: I won't do any business with Goldman Sachs. They took money from the taxpayers and then stuck it to us. On the other hand, the DOE is a bloated organization. Consider this. There is 13,000 teachers in the DOE, yet only 6,500 in the classroom.

Both the SB and Advertisers have side stories about a shooting at ft hood. Too bad both papers forgot to publish the actual news item so people would know what they are talking about.

Useless and clueless as usual.

Restore the instructional days and then deal with the DOE!

17 days out of the classroom...that is unacceptable. Get the kids back in the classroom. Lingle can cut less from the DOE and make up the savings elsewhere. Or, she can target the bleeding heart of teachers and let them make the sacrifice the other unions WON'T.

Is the problem with the teachers in the classroom or an inefficient bureaucracy? Making the front-line teachers eat it will help solve the problems in the DOE how? Retention and recruitment? Good luck! Don't blame the teachers, there was a 5% pay cut on the table to Lingle...REJECTED! Not enough savings.

Education is a political tool the governor is only too happy to play with and the kids are paying the price. What an insult to the military families stationed here who serve our country, entrust the kids to our schools, and their sacrifice and commitment is repaid with 17 furlough days for their kids. Unacceptable!

I'm curious, to the "Private Model" proponents, how do you justify HMSA, Kaiser, HECO, and Matson continually asking for rate increases? Kaiser has asked for 30% in increases over the last 10 years, and that equates to a greater than 30% increase in premiums. Nice. That's pretty much the model the DOE is following, but I don't see people screaming for the heads of Kaiser, HMSA...etc. Just a comparison...particularly HECO, a public utility, provides a public function, has government oversight, and a total monopoly/stranglehold on the state. What's better than a state job for security? HECO Let's go get them next!